Inslee pitches to Nevada outside 2020 spotlight on DC

Bill Barrow And Michelle L. Price, The Associated Press

Saturday

Jan 12, 2019 at 1:34 AMJan 12, 2019 at 3:32 PM

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) " The Democratic presidential sweepstakes might seem like a tale of Joe Biden and the Seven Senators, but there are plenty of governors and mayors looking for a chance to steal the spotlight from the former vice president and other headliners.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee pitched his progressive record during a visit Saturday to the early caucus state of Nevada and recounted how he challenged the president when Trump suggested arming teachers in the wake of school shootings last year.

"I looked him in the eye and said, 'You know what, you've got to do less tweeting and more listening to teachers,'" Inslee said.

Inslee will soon travel to the first primary state of New Hampshire as he mulls a White House bid.

Terry McAuliffe, a former Virginia governor and longtime Democratic power player, is showing up on cable news and writing newspaper opinion columns.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock are busy with day jobs but recently finished an ambitious round of midterm campaigning. Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper left office this month, and he spent part of the fall on the road.

Billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he'd fund his own race if he runs. Even Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is making noise.

And San Antonio, former Obama housing chief Julian Castro kicked off his campaign Saturday in his hometown.

Each person is making moves that could result in a presidential campaign. But in the early days of a Democratic primary, the question is whether someone without a Washington resume can win a contest that's so far dominated by Biden, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke and several nationally known senators, including Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kamala Harris of California, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cory Booker of New Jersey.

Other senators who might join the race include Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

"Being an outsider governor or an outsider mayor is a good place to run from to cast yourself as somebody with executive experience and leadership at a time when people don't trust a dysfunctional Congress," said Dave Hamrick, who managed former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley's unsuccessful bid in 2016.

"The challenge," Hamrick said, "is figuring out whether your story is the right one for this moment and selling it when so many other people are out there."

For now, Inslee is the most publicly active of the governors. In North Las Vegas, he cited his record on climate change, gun control, the minimum wage and paid family leave in an appearance at the Battle Born Progress convention. He said addressing climate change is "the first and foremost obligation" facing the country and that he expects recreational use of marijuana to eventually be legalized in all states.

Under a large American flag, Inslee paced the stage with a microphone as he said he represented "the real Washington," and told activists who could be in 2020 that he felt "kinship" with them.

The 67-year-old governor and former congressman told The Associated Press in an interview after that he hasn't made a decision about whether to run for president but "it won't be month away." Inslee said he's talking to potential staff and traveling to talk with Democrats around the country, but there's "no litmus test or pivot point" that his decision hinges on.

Campaign finance laws give nonfederal officials more leeway to raise money without having an official presidential campaign or exploratory committee, so there's less pressure on them to announce campaigns than for senators who want to travel.

If those governors and mayors announce early and then fail to show fundraising prowess, their campaigns could be short-lived. But if they wait too long, they could lose out on media attention, donors and key staffers.

The sweet spot will be qualifying for the first party-sponsored debate in June. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez hasn't yet announced debate qualification rules.

Inslee is traveling now using his federal political action committee.

Garcetti's PAC raised $2.6 million for Democrats last year. He brought in $100,000 each for several state parties, including early voting states, and he recently hired the former executive director of the Democratic Party in South Carolina, which holds the South's first primary.

Bullock, a former DGA chairman like Inslee, traveled extensively in 2018 but now is dedicated to his state's legislative session. His national advisers include Jen Palmieri, a former communications director to the Obama White House and Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.

In Colorado, Hickenlooper opened a federal political action committee last fall and has made some top staff hires.

McAuliffe, who is also a former DNC chairman, is in contact with his old network of donors and aides; he has the personal wealth to pay for some of his own early travel.

Besides competing for money and staff, Hamrick said, candidates will have to choose their "lanes" " political identities that make them stand out.

Bullock can be the 52-year-old white governor who mixes his Ivy League education with his Montana roots. McAuliffe, the 61-year-old former Virginia governor, can be the establishment liberal who restored felon voting rights and pushed Medicaid expansion but who warns against a "federal jobs guarantee" and "free college tuition."

Inslee told the AP on Saturday that if he runs, he wants to focus his message on climate change and "family-oriented, working people policies" that benefit the economy, like paid family leave.

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Barrow reported from Atlanta.

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Follow the reporters on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BillBarrowAP and https://twitter.com/michellelprice

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